Hearts of Steel
by Stratagem
Summary: Geun-tae couldn't be happier. The Earth Tribe is prospering, this king actually goes to war, and Geun-tae doesn't feel like a discarded weapon. But the king should get married and he's not interested in the current prospects, so Geun-tae makes good on his threat to adopt a teenage daughter. Unfortunately, it's not Soo-Won's eye she catches but the new Wind Tribe General's, Tae-Woo.


Disclaimer: I do not own Yona of the Dawn/Akatsuki no Yona.

A/N: I neeeeeed Earth Tribe and Wind Tribe focused things in my life. In the manga, Geun-Tae has mentioned adopting a daughter because Soo-Won needs to get married, so I decided to play around with the idea of him actually doing that. Plus, Yun-ho/Geun-tae fluff needs to happen. Also, I love Tae-Woo and want to explore him and his new responsibilities as Wind Tribe General. This is set after the Xing Arc in the manga, so there will be some manga spoilers.

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Hearts of Steel

 **Chapter 1**

The fields were flourishing and the smell of fresh herbs drifted from the gardens as Geun-tae and Chul-Rang rode up the pathway to the estate's entrance. Workers were out in the fields, slicing down the wheat that was ready to harvest. It didn't look like a home without a leader, which was what Geun-tae had been expecting.

While he was away fighting the new king's wars, one of his former lieutenants had died at home from a wasting sickness. Daeshim would've preferred to be slain in battle, Geun-tae was sure of that, but he had been too ill to fight when Soo-won had rallied the Earth Tribe against the Southern Kai invaders. Geun-tae had sent doctors to his old friend's bedside, but…

Mourning flags flew from the arches and windows of the estate, and the servants he saw were wearing bands of white around their upper arms. Daeshim was from a noble family in the Earth Tribe, and as his father had been a guard at the castle in Chi'Shin, he and Geun-tae had grown up together. Geun-tae could remember plenty of afternoons spent sparring in the courtyards of the castle. Sometimes they had pretended that the pillars and walls were the enemy, which was part of the reason why Chi'Shin Castle was in such disrepair. It had been much abused by two boys dreaming of war a long time ago.

During Joo-nam's reign, they had fought together in the field with Yu-hon and once Geun-tae became a general, Daeshim had been his second in command. Then King Il had come into power, and Daeshim had retired to this estate like an unneeded war horse.

"I think we've been noticed," Chul Rang said, "You should've told them you were coming." Up at the main building of the estate, there was a commotion going on. Someone was yelling, and if you listened closely, you could hear feet pounding the floor as people raced around.

"I didn't know I was coming until this morning," Geun-tae replied.

"You still could've sent someone."

"Eh." Maybe. But he had learned about Daeshim's death that morning, when he was addressing Earth tribe business. Someone should have told him earlier, but then again, he had been wrapped up in new revenue options for the Earth Tribe and battles before that and then there was that situation in Xing. It had ended peacefully, with Xing becoming a vassal state, but Geun-tae had been ready to gather his troops and support the effort if it blossomed into war.

Daeshim had died a month ago, and Geun-tae thought it was time to honor his friend and visit his memorial stone. He also intended to check on his friend's estate and address the issue of who was running it. Daeshim had three children, two sons and a daughter, but it had been years since Geun-tae had seen any of them. He expected that an older relative was keeping this estate in order, and he would appoint that man as the caretaker until one of the sons was old enough to take over.

A middle-aged woman appeared on the porch of the main building, wearing a blue servant's hanbok. With grey-streaked hair and a harried expression, she bowed low to Geun-tae as he dismounted and walked up the path, leaving his horse in a stable boy's care.

"General Geun-tae, you are most welcome here," she said, raising out of her bow, "But my lord, we weren't expecting you, so I must apologize for the state of things."

"There's no way you could've known," Geun-tae said, "I've come to visit Daeshim's memorial stone and talk with the master of the estate."

A flash of concern rushed over the servant's face, and Geun-tae and Chul-rang exchanged a glance. Apparently something was wrong with asking after the master of the estate.

"I—I'll let him know," she said, bowing again and turning to another servant, this one hovering in the archway that led into the building. They spoke quickly with each other and the male servant stepped out onto the porch while the woman hurried inside. He was an older man, around the woman's age, and wrinkles crinkled his sun-worn face as he smiled at Geun-tae and Chul-rang.

"I'm called Suk. I'll lead you to the memorial stone, my lord," the servant said, bobbing a bow to Geun-tae. "My lord Daeshim would be proud that you have come to visit him."

He should have come earlier. He should have visited while his friend was still alive, but he hadn't wanted his last memory of Daeshim to be him withering away in a bed. No, he preferred to remember Daeshim as a powerful man who could take off someone's arm with a swing of his sword. That was a much better memory.

The servant silently led Geun-tae and Chul-rang through the estate's pleasing winding paths, and Geun-tae noticed quite a few of the staff craning around corners and bushes to get a peek at him. Geun-tae had questions about the estate and his friend's children, but he kept them to himself. For now, he would focus on paying his respects. Then he would deal with the matters in front of him.

Daeshim's memorial stone was set up in a small pavilion, next to a tiny stream that had been diverted into the garden. There were flags around the stone and his sword was mounted a wall behind the stone, leaving the weapon with Daeshim even in death. His friend would have liked that.

Suk and Chul-rang stepped away, leaving him a moment's privacy. He bowed his head, hands pressed together, and he let memories play through his head, an endless stream of battle scenes and childhood moments, years' worth of laughter and fighting. Daeshim would always be a brightness in his life, a friend and battle partner.

When he raised his head, Geun-tae bowed low to the memorial stone. "I hope you find a good sparring partner," he said, smirking, "So you don't tear the heavens apart with your boredom." Heaven wouldn't know what had hit it.

Stepping outside of the memorial pavilion, Geun-tae turned to the servant, Suk. "Thank you."

Suk immediately started shaking his head and stammering. "No, General Geun-tae, thank you, thank you for coming to visit. Lord Daeshim spoke of you so often."

"Is the master of the estate ready for General Geun-tae?" Chul-rang asked.

Again, there was a long moment of hesitation. "The master…the master should be prepared to see the general," Suk finally said, "Please, come this way."

They stared walking through the gardens again, staying on the twisting paths. After a while, it seemed like they weren't getting any closer to the main building. They took yet another turn that led away from the building.

"This is an exceptionally meandering path," Geun-tae said, somewhat amused. They were being delayed, but why?

"The lady of the estate liked the pattern," Suk said, though his face was red. He knew he had been caught. "She enjoyed paths that force you to take your time and be with your thoughts or the company you keep."

No one better tell Yun-ho, she would think that was a great idea. He could just imagine her having the gardens and paths in the castle torn up and replaced with loopy pathways like these.

Eventually they made it back to the main building and were led inside to a sizable sitting room that was decorated in lotus blossoms and ostentatious tigers. It didn't look like Daeshim's style at all, so the new master of the house must have chosen it. And, oddly enough, that master wasn't even there yet.

He overheard Suk whisper to himself. "Oh no…"

"Is something wrong?" Chul-rang asked, and Geun-tae lifted an eyebrow. All right, something was going on here. What was with these people?

"I'm sure he'll be here in a moment, please sit and enjoy the tea," Suk said before dashing out of the room.

"They're being weird," Chul-rang said, heading over to the teapot. He poured Geun-tae a cup and handed it to the general.

"Mhmm." They were hiding something or, if not that, they were ashamed about something. Presumably it was the new master of the estate. They kept stalling when it came to him, and now he wasn't here at all.

Finally, the door slid open, and a tiny mousy man oozed inside. That was the only way to describe his languid, sloppy movements. He looked at Geun-tae with weak brown eyes and drooped into a bow. "Hey, General Geun-tae. I'm Young-Soo, and this is…the estate." He flopped over onto the pillows on the other side of the table and looked expectantly at Suk, who had slipped into the room after him.

Suk looked as if he was about to die of embarrassment. "Lord Young-Soo, you have to sit up," he whispered violently, "This is General Geun-tae!"

"I know, moron, I just said that," Young-Soo said. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, waving to his servant to get his drink.

Geun-tae narrowed his eyes. He understood being lazy, he was often lazy himself, though maybe not to this level. But he didn't approve of this guy's behavior or how he treated his staff.

"You've taken over the estate for Daeshim," Geun-tae said, "The fields look well. How are the horses?" Daeshim's estate produced two things: wheat and fine war horses. It was enough to keep him well-staffed and prosperous, if not wealthy. Geun-tae's own horse, the one he had rode here, came from the stables of this estate. The stallion had been a gift from Daeshim three years ago.

"I don't know," Young-Soo said. He sniffed and turned to Suk. "Tell him how the horses are."

"We have a fine batch of foals this year, my lord," Suk said, a fond and proud smile on his face, "They're quite a lively bunch."

There was a loud gulping noise, and then Young-Soo set down his cup. "So the baby horses are great. Everything's great." He gave Geun-tae a half-smile, one that Geun-tae didn't bother with returning.

"Do you need extra hands for the harvest?" Geun-tae asked, "I could send aid from Chi'Shin."

Young-Soo blinked and then looked at the servant again. Geun-tae's hands curled into fists against his knees as the situation became clearer to him.

"We've already received help from some of the neighboring villages," Suk said, "But, ah, I can ask if we will require—"

"We won't need any more help," Young-Soo said, shaking his head, "Like I said, everything's fine here."

Geun-tae glanced at him and then set his cup down on the table before standing up. "I want to speak to the person who is running this estate."

Suk stared at him and then gave a weary, relieved smile. "Really? I can lead you to her."

Her? He must've meant the female servant from earlier. That made sense, she looked like she was the kind of person who could keep an estate in line, even with someone as incompetent as Young-Soo around. "Let's go."

"Wait, wait," Young-Soo said, scrambling to his feet, "I'm in charge here. You don't need to speak to anyone else."

"You can stay here," Geun-tae said, rolling his eyes, "You don't really know anything anyways, do you."

"It's still my estate…"

Geun-tae laughed and left the room with Chul-rang, following Suk as he headed out of the building and toward the fields. Once they reached the edge of one of the fields, the servant cupped his hands around his mouth. Geun-tae's eyes widened as the man yelled out over the noise of the harvesters talking and laughing and the swoosh of scythes.

"Min! Min, General Geun-tae is here to see you!"

Instead of the servant woman, a young girl started walking toward them, a sharp scythe in her hand. She pushed her wide-brimmed hat back, revealing a golden-brown braid of hair and darker skin, like his own. Blue eyes like the sky overhead met Geun-tae's and didn't look away. He knew those eyes. Daeshim's had been the exact same color.

Her dress was muddy and her hands and face were smudged with dirt as she stepped out of the remains of the wheat, but he could see that underneath that mess was a beautiful young woman, probably sixteen or so. Almost the king's age. Hmm.

"General Geun-tae," she said, bowing to him. The look on her face was daring as she straightened again and held out the scythe to him. "You've come to help with the harvest, right?"

Geun-tae stared at her and then smirked. Audacious little thing, wasn't she? "I think we have a lot to talk about," he said, walking over and taking the scythe from her. He towered over her, but she didn't back away.

"Then we can work and talk," she said, turning around and heading back into the field.

Yep, she would do just fine as his daughter.


End file.
